Halloween 2011

October was packed with pumpkin patches and all sorts of Halloween fun.

Dell Oso Farms

Lemos Farm

Webb Ranch

Pastorino Farms

Pirate themed house in Los Altos

Pumpkin carving and roasting pumpkin seeds

Trick or treating in downtown Los Altos

The Breslows as The Cat in the Hat, Goldfish*, Thing 1 and Thing 2

The loot

*I couldn't find a goldfish hat or some kind of costume so I had to make do with an goldfish iron on T-shirt. Yes I know, it was pretty pathetic but next year I will do better.

You turn 38 only once

I heard that Alexander's Steakhouse was great and so I decided that was where Jamie and I were going to go for my birthday. When we opened up the menu I saw "One Night Only". I read it and pointed it out to Jamie. When the waiter came by we asked him about it. He said it was still available and if we wanted to see the menu. "Sure!" My first impression was "Wow, that's some kind of marketing" I mean it totally hypes the one time thing and you are THE lucky winner. I just thought "Do I want to be a sucker?" Well, the waiter AND Jamie gave me quite the sales pitch so I gave in to it all and chalked it up to "It's my birthday"

The meal was fantastic! Probably the best tasting meal I ever had. It was an extravagant meal but also a fun experience and D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. food.

They make you sign the menu and I wrote "Happy 38th to me!"

Hamachi - Chotoro sashimi with truffle ponzu sauce

We came for the Hamachi shooter and it wasn't on our tasting menu but we still asked for one. It was DELICIOUS and not a wonder why it's so popular.

Jamie taking the Hamachi Shooter

Scallop and short rib (surf & turf) with carrot, heirloom carrots and orange vinaigrette

Lamb saffron pearl cous cous with green olives, artichokes and black garlic

Lone Mountain Wagyu tartar

Potato salad - celery root, chicories, truffles, quail egg

Cabassi Rea Australian Wagyu, corn ragout and foie gras (requested by Jamie)

Asian Pear Cocktail Sorbet made at the table. The waiter poured liquid nitrogen in the bowl while the pastry cook stirred the ingredients together.

The finished product

Kahlua souffle with vanilla anglaise and gingersnaps. The lightest melt in your mouth souffle I ever had. They don't put corn syrup which helps keep the souffle together.

They didn't get my name right but still nice to have a little birthday cake.

Lime flavored cotton candy to end the meal

Lucas - 18 month stats

Lucas had his 18 month appointment. He's a growing and healthy boy. The pediatrician asked, "What does he eat?" I replied, "What DOESN'T he eat" and she chuckled. 

Weight: 23 lbs 10 oz (jumped from 10% to 25%)
Height: 32 inches
10 teeth on the verge of 11

So in comparison Lucas is shorter and although he weighs less than Caleb at the same age, it seems like he'll be stockier. I did ask about his verbal skills and she said at this age it could be around 10 words and will grow fast. I already feel like he's learning something new every other day and showing us his personality - demanding yet very cuddly and sweet.

18 month Lucas

My wonderful wonderful little boy. How can I possibly describe my "baby" Lucas.

• He is very demanding and loud. And he can throw a tantrum by stomping his little feet. A lot of times I give in which is why he's had apple juice and Oreos.
• He seems to have no fear. Fun for him, terrifying for me.
• He is a foodie. He will drop his food and grab for yours if it's something new and different. I love it! But also he'll grab at any kind of food/drink. We have caught him holding a Red Bull can, Coke, and Starbuck's.
• His vocabulary is increasing fast. He can say ball, more, thank you, hello, bye bye, apple juice, mama, dada, please, go-gurt, bath, uh-oh, no, fish, bubbles, and MINE (when I first heard that I was flabbergasted). We also think he tries to repeat things we say. 
• His favorite book is "The Very Busy Spider" When I read the page where the spider catches the fly "Just like that" he'll repeat "just like that".
• He knows where his head, ears, belly button, toes, and nose are. We're working on eyes and mouth. And yes we're behind - blame second child syndrome.
• He tries to hum/sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with hand movements. It's super cute. I want to record that on video.
• He LOVES music and has this bouncing side to side dance move.
• He understands everything. For example, I ask him to put his diaper in the garbage and clothes in the hamper. He always claps his hands and runs to give me a high five. The only thing he doesn't understand is "no" as in No more apple juice, no more grapes, no coloring the wood floor, etc etc.
• He opens the pantry to get something to eat and gives it to me to open.He also tries to open the refrigerator but thankfully isn't strong enough.
• He is down to one nap but he tends to need his nap earlier than Caleb which sometimes means no break in the afternoon for me and Jamie.
• He copies everything that Caleb says or does. (There's also a lot of copying Lucas behavior from Caleb).

Pretending he's driving at Parent Observation class

Rough Week

It's been a rough week. Even as I type this it still feels a little surreal. My mother-in-law unexpectedly passed away last week. The events leading up to her death happened so quickly. During her funeral service some people spoke about her. The one thing that most resonated with me was although she suffered from bi-polar depression she was able to cope and live a good life. She knew her limits and what she was capable of. She also discovered her "calling" later in life and became part of Beit T'Shuvah a rehabilitation center for addicts. She counseled and affected hundreds of people evidenced by the huge crowd at her funeral service. She wasn't afraid to share her own experiences good or bad. She had a "take charge" attitude and she didn't let you feel sorry for yourself for too long. I've kept this in mind when I get sad about how short of a time she had to spend with my boys who she loved and adored. All I can say is she will be missed. 

The garage part 2

The garage is slowly going through a transformation. It is now fully drywalled and needs to be sanded down once more, primed and painted. Today we have new garage doors. Such a difference it makes!

Before

After

Caleb's buddies

Caleb's first friends would have to be all the girls from my DayOne group. Now that he is in preschool he has made friends on his own. On Caleb's right is D and and on the left is F. Last year when they were in the two's class Caleb and D became fast friends through a mutual love of trains. And at the time D didn't speak a word of English. Caleb's nanny would come back from taking him to the park and would mention a little boy named F that Caleb would play with every time they saw each other and it was coincidence that he now goes to the same preschool.

Surefit!

I found an inexpensive solution for our dining room chairs. Surefit slipcovers.

Loved the chair but needed a new color

Cream color goes with the rug and blue walls

My little cowboy

My little guy had no qualms about going on a pony or being held by a stranger. Fearless or clueless?

Comparison picture

It seems lately I've been told that Caleb and Lucas look the same and are "spitting images" So I started to look at some pictures.



Caleb @ 16 months

Lucas @ 16 months

Noah's Ark

Jamie had plans to golf with his dad so Jamie's mom and I took the boys for the morning. Jamie's parents live minutes away from Skirball Center where they have an interactive hands on exhibit for children called Noah's Ark. It is FANTASTIC. We took Caleb last year but I think he was a little too young for it. This year it was much more enjoyable for him.

If you take a close look at the objects that make up the birds you'll see a purse, duster, egg beaters, and some other household items. I love how they re-purposed common household items.

 This area kids get a chance to put animals on the conveyor belt. When you turn the wheel they go up and into the ark.

Lucas hanging out on the alligator sofa

Climbing on the turtle.

 Every once in a while a staff member had an animal puppet.

The ark with animals heads poking out

The video is of the kids 1) Creating a storm 2) Ushering animals into the ark 3) Cleaning Poop* 4) Elephant trumpet noise 5) Building the ark

* Cleaning Poop - I think by far Caleb's favorite part about Noah's Ark was of all things cleaning the poop! All around the ark there were fake animal poops on the floor. There was a broom and dustpan and a bucket for kids to gather the poop. After it was all cleaned up the first time Caleb said to me, "Mommy, can you make more poop?" So I had to take the bucket and scatter the poop. I thought it was just my kid who was fascinated with the poop but it was very popular. Kids waited for a dustpan and rushed to be the first one to get to a piece of poop. Another mom said to me that she told her daughter they were going to Noah's Ark and the daughter replied "Is that the place with the poo?" LOL!

When we left I asked Caleb if he liked it and he, "Can we come back again?" I told him that when we visit Grandma and Grandpa again we can go back to play at Noah's Ark. He was very happy with that answer.

New Hardwood Floors

Finally the transformation of the floors on the second level of our house is done!

Had to move all the furniture out of the living and dining room

Dining room chairs and artwork moved to our master bedroom

Stack of hardwood floor waiting to be installed

Living room hardwood installed and stack of flooring for dining room

Installed but still unfinished and unstained



 

New living room shelves

It took some time to get the furniture back in the room but the major pieces are now in. We now are trying to figure out where to hang artwork and put some accessories.

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Disneyland 2011

I've heard Disneyland is fun to go to during October because the park is decorated for Halloween. This year Rosh Hoshanah was at the end of September and we thought it was a perfect time to go. Disneyland did not disappoint and it was a great family adventure.

Obligatory picture in front of the park

Upon entering the park Caleb saw a train and immediately wanted to go on it. But before that Jamie wanted to go on the new Star Tours ride. He "quickly" went on that while I tried to convince Caleb to go on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride. He didn't want anything to do with that so we sat and waited.

We took the train to Fantasyland so we could go ride on It's a Small World. I sat with Lucas and had to keep him from trying to climb out of the boat. He did enjoy the music and seeing the whole attraction.

Filipino doll!

We also went on another train ride - Casey Jr Circus Train. While sitting there Jamie and I both said that we had never been on this ride or noticed it before. It's astonishing considering Jamie has been to Disneyland probably 70 times in his lifetime and I'm no stranger to the park myself.

After Fantasyland we headed to Mickey's Toontown so the boys could run around. We visited Mickey's house and played at Goofy's Playhouse.

Caleb was a little scared of Mickey while Lucas was curious. Typical.

Lucas' Mickey ears hat - It's a pumpkin!

In Frontierland we visited Big Thunder Ranch where they had a petting zoo.

Farm Animals

Carved pumpkins

Nemo & Dory

We worked our way toward New Orleans Square since we had a lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans. Pirates of the Caribbean was closed :( By this time Lucas needed a nap so Jamie took Caleb to Tom Sawyer's Island while I strolled around to get Lucas to nap. When they got back from the island, I took the boys to lunch while Jamie hurried to the Haunted Mansion. It was decorated with a Nightmare before Christmas theme. Jamie met us at the restaurant and said that the item to get at Cafe Orleans was a Monte Cristo. We had no idea what it was and decided to share one. It was disgusting. We will never get one again.

Napping Lucas

After lunch Jamie went to Splash Mountain. After that I took Caleb on Autopia where Caleb drove. We then went back to Tomorrowland. We stopped to watch the Jedi show. Jamie really wanted to take Caleb to the Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters. He said let's not tell him what ride we're going on but as soon as we got in line Caleb protested. Jamie took Lucas on the ride while I took Caleb back to Fantasyland and on the carousel. Caleb then surprised us all by wanting to go on the Mad Tea Party teacups! I refused to go on it so Jamie said to get in line for the Tangled ride since we just saw the movie but it got shut down.Our last ride in Fantasyland was Peter Pan. The line said it was only 20 minute wait but it was more like 40.

Driving! We stalled once.

Watching the video of Jamie and Caleb on the tea cups makes me dizzy.

Hanging out in a teacup. Wonder if he would've enjoyed the actual ride.

After Peter Pan we went to Adventureland so we could go on The Jungle Cruise and Tarzan's Treehouse. After that we pretty much were done. The park closed at 7pm because it was one of the nights where they had Mickey's Halloween Party. We opted to not buy tickets for that this year. But as it got later in the afternoon we saw more and more people in Halloween costumes. It looked like a fun event.